Patrick has been having entirely too much fun with our new camcorder. If I’d known he was shooting the credits for our new sitcom, I’d have cleaned up a little.
Enjoy! (Make sure the volume is up.)
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Happy New Year!
We went to Fayetteville for a couple of days to celebrate the 50th anniversary of my mom’s mother and stepfather. Mumsey and Grandy came from Arkansas for the occasion and “Aint Naincy” (my mom’s sister) came up from Florida.
At dinner, Grandy (who is 94 and sharp as a tack) shared lots of stories with us about everything from World War II to the various animals he has bottle-fed to adulthood.
We also got lots of time with the niece and nephew, who make us all the more eager to meet this little person we’re waiting for. Seriously, how cute is this:
We came back to Virginia on New Years Eve, just in time for a visit from my friend Mike. The three of us stayed awake long enough to say “Happy New Year” and then promptly fell asleep. Lola was unnerved by the sound of fireworks outside and had a harder time settling down, poor thing. It just breaks your heart to see her shivering with fear.
So today we started another year. It’s going to be a big one for us — stay tuned!
Post-Christmas Post
We are back safe and sound from NY, where I saw my first white Christmas in who knows how long. We had a nice time with Patrick’s folks, racked up some great gifts, ate our weight in candy and just relaxed for a few days.
We also saw I Am Legend, which was scary as all get-out and incredibly sad at one point. That’s all the details you’re getting out of me — go see it!
I’m happy to report that I am finally starting to feel Champ move! What a weird, amazing feeling. It usually happens at bedtime — just when I’m nodding off, this little tumbly sensation pops up in my belly. Tonight I took a long bath and that inspired some acrobatics, too! I can’t wait until Patrick can feel all that movement going on. It makes Champ more of a current presence to me instead of just someone I’ll meet eventually.
This weekend we’ll go to my parents’ house to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my mom’s mom and stepdad, known to us as Mumsey and Grandy.
After that, New Year’s!
Patrick's First Christmas Newsletter Wins Rave Reviews
Earlier this year, Patrick volunteered to do our Christmas newsletter so that I could continue to sleep and snack my way through pregnancy. He’s gotten such rave reviews that I’m afraid he will be stuck doing the newsletter forever!
For example, look at the hilarious “news release” my friend Margo Jarvis sent this morning:
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For Immediate Release
December 12, 2007Jarvis Ratings In
Tremblay Christmas Letter Wins Most Creative AwardFayetteville, NC — The Jarvis Foundation is proud to announce this year’s Most Creative Christmas Letter winner — The Tremblays of Virginia! After reviewing copious amounts of Christmas newsletters from family and friends, a panel of judges voted hands-down that the The Tremblays newsletter scored the highest on the Jarvis Rating Scale.
The newsletter received perfect scores on:
- Aesthetic Cohesion
- Content
- Overall Creativity
“We’re thrilled to receive this caliber of newsletter that is both informative and entertaining,” said Margo Jarvis, VP of Creative Services at the Foundation. “The Tremblays have yet again shown their expertise in informing their audience in a way that makes them want to soak in every word.”
While no cash or trophy awards accompany this selection, the Tremblays should feel free to use the terms “Winner of the Jarvis Foundation’s Most Creative Christmas Letter Award” in next year’s missive.
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If you have no idea what we’re talking about here, we probably don’t have your address. So send it!
In the meantime, here’s a PDF of the newsletter. Enjoy!
Mark your calendar!
On January 8 at 9:15 a.m., we’ll have an ultrasound to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl. Place your bets now!
Patrick and I spent our Saturday in Carytown, doing our Christmas shopping. We picked up a little something for Dixon at World of Mirth — that is such a fun store to look around in! We also made a stop at For the Love of Chocolate, which is jam-packed with every kind of chocolate you can imagine. A pregnant woman’s dream!
I’m proud to say that after a couple more visits from the UPS man, we will officially be done with our Christmas shopping.
Yesterday we went on the Petersburg home tour, where we got to see how some of the oldest houses in the city have been restored to their former glory. One really cool one was the Folly Castle Inn, built in 1763 by Peter Jones (the grandson of the “Peter” in Petersburg).
One of the best parts of the tour was the High Street Lofts, a new development rising from the ashes of the Seward Trunk Company. It was established in 1878, and was once the nation’s largest manufacturer of steamer trunks.
Here’s what the old, unfinished part of the factory looks like:
And here’s the part they’re re-doing into swanky apartments:
There’s so much history in that city! Petersburg is probably most famous for its Civil War history, which is unfortunate — there’s so much more that went on there. Although it has been through some tough years in the past several decades, it certainly seems to be on its way back.
Weekend
I always seem to post on weekends. Maybe because that’s the only time anything fun happens?
Friday was a sad day for Patrick. His childhood hero, Evel Knievel, died at age 69. He has resisted the urge to name our child Evel Knievel (thanks, Mary!) but I’m sure it wasn’t easy.
That night, I met him at his office for a little shindig and then we ventured out to witness the holiday illumination of Richmond. (“Didn’t Grant already light up Richmond once?” he asked. He loves history jokes.)
We walked up to the governor’s mansion, where there was a line around the block to go in and see, I don’t know, how they decorated their tree or something. From there we went to the capitol steps and watched the skyline light up.
(This is someone else’s photo from a completely different vantage point. But you get the idea.)
Yesterday, Patrick got up early and went to take the GRE. He’s thinking about starting a master’s program at VCU next fall. (We’ll have a baby then — isn’t that weird?!) Then we went to get some garland and decorated the porch.
When it got dark, we drove around to look at tacky Christmas lights. There weren’t many, but the ones we found were legendary. Behold:
Today I had brunch with a friend in Carytown and Patrick went to see No Country for Old Men. I repotted some plants and worked on an article, and he is currently slaving away on our Christmas newsletter (which I have to say is shaping up to be the most entertaining yet!)
Christmas shopping gets into full swing this week — feel free to drop hints in the comments!
Even better weekend!
I spent my Veteran’s Day weekend with my favorite veteran!
Patrick signed up several weeks ago to run a 5K in Staunton on Saturday. The race wasn’t until 2 in the afternoon, but we left early because he said we were stopping on the way … for a surprise.
It turned out to be the Virginia Safari Park, one of those places where you can drive around and the animals come right up to your window to eat!
It. Was. Awesome.
The first animals we saw were an aggressive gang of llamas, but then there were camels and ostriches and sweet, timid little deer. There were zebras, great big bison, swamp water buffaloes and emus. We got to meet all of them up close and personal (one sneezed/spat on Patrick) and then walk through the petting zoo area where we saw kangaroos, giraffes, lemurs, goats and piggies. We will definitely be going back there with children some time …
Then off to Staunton, where Patrick finished the 5K in less than half the time it took me. Showoff.
By the time we got back home we were starving, so we picked up some Chinese take-out and settled in with Lola (who was fascinated by all the different animal smells on us).
This morning we woke up with an urge to go see a movie. We decided on Bee Movie, which is every bit as cute as it looks!
Then we went to St. Mary’s hospital for a Birthing Expo, where they had lots of vendors explaining why you simply must have their prenatal massage gel or babyproofing products or postpartum Pilates classes. We also sat through a class on the phases of labor, which didn’t give us any new information but was still kind of fun. (They showed a video at the end, but it wasn’t the gory kind. Maybe next time!)
Tomorrow, I have my 12-week checkup at the doctor’s office, and then another ultrasound on Wednesday!
Joe Tremblay 